1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a rotisserie for use in an incubator or hybridization oven. In one of its aspects, the invention relates to bottle retainers for attachment to the rotisserie. In another of its aspects, the invention relates to a structure for attaching the bottle retainers to a carousel of the rotisserie. In a further aspect, the invention relates to a structure for mounting and removing the rotisserie from the incubator or hybridization oven.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hybridization ovens, or incubators, including a rotisserie mechanism are well known in the art. An example of a rotisserie mechanism in an incubator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,662 to Robbins et al. The rotisserie mechanism is a chain driven spindle with eccentrically mounted wheels carrying a plurality of clips secured to the wheels by fasteners. The clips are formed of stainless steel or anodized aluminum, and have resilient arms for releasably holding sample bottles within the incubator as the rotisserie rotates.
There are a number of problems with the prior art metal clips. One problem is that the metal edges are often sharp. As a result, when sample bottles are either placed or removed from the metallic clips, lab gloves have a tendency to rip or tear as they rub against the sharp edges.
Another problem is that sample bottles come in different sizes and are used in different combinations as the application dictates. Therefore, the incubator must be adaptable to different bottles; different sizes of bottles will generally require different clips to securely hold them without breaking them. In the Robbins et al. ""662 incubator, the clips are not adaptable to a wide range of bottle sizes, nor are they easily removable from the rotisserie mechanism. As a result, use of the incubator for different sizes or combinations of sample bottles requires modification or replacement of the rotisserie.
A third problem results even when sample bottles of the same size are used. Over time, the clips have the tendency to lose their capability to retain sample bottles as springiness/biasing capabilities are reduced through use.
It would be advantageous to have a rotisserie mechanism that provided for ready substitution or replacement of the rotisserie within the oven, or, preferably, ready substitution of the clips carried by the rotisserie. Such a rotisserie mechanism would lack sharp edges, be readily adaptable to sample bottles of different sizes, and to different combinations of sample bottles.
The invention relates to a rotisserie assembly for carrying fluid-containing receptacles along a generally circular path about an axis of rotation, comprising a spindle extending along the axis of rotation, at least one generally circular carousel mounted on the spindle, at least one bottle retainer comprising a bottle retainer base mounting a pair of spaced resilient arms and defining a retainer for a fluid-containing receptacle of a first size, and a detent mechanism mounted between the bottle retainer base and the carousel for removably mounting the bottle retainer to the carousel between a first attached position and a second detached position. The clip is formed from a non-metallic material with non-sharp edges to avoid potential ripping or tearing to lab gloves as sample bottles are inserted and removed from the rotisserie. In a preferred embodiment the clips are formed from a flame-retardant fiberglass reinforced nylon 6/6 material sold under the trade name RTP 201 FR, having the ability to withstand temperatures of 60 degrees Celsius for prolonged periods and up to 110 degrees Celsius and higher for brief periods of time without losing their ability to provide appropriate biasing to hold the sample bottles in a secure orientation.
Another embodiment of the invention comprises a plurality of bottle retainers in a selection of sizes, each bottle retainer comprising a base and a pair of resilient arms defining a retainer for a fluid-containing receptacle, wherein the resilient arms of each bottle retainer are configured to retain a fluid-containing receptacle of one of a number of different sizes, and wherein the bottle retainers are adapted to be removably mounted to the carousel.
The invention is further directed to the bottle retainer, comprising a base portion and opposing arcuate resilient arms connected to the base portion, wherein the base portion has at least one of a socket and a clip and the carousel has the other of the socket and the clip, the socket and clips adapted to selectively engage one another in a removable fashion. One of the socket and clip has a detent adapted to engage a shoulder of the other of the socket and clip, whereby the selective removal of the clip from the socket is accomplished by disengaging the detent from the shoulder.